Jack Dempsey absence explained as Glasgow Warriors bid to end 13-year wait in Belfast

The league leaders welcome back Gregor Brown for his first game since injuring his hamstring in Scotland’s Six Nations defeat by Ireland in March but they are without both Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey, depriving their back row of two-thirds of its international exponents.

Darge injured his ribs against Cardiff last week while Dempsey is “being managed” according to head coach Franco Smith. Both should be available for the URC play-offs.

A bonus-point win for Glasgow at the Affidea Stadium on Friday night will guarantee they finish top. They hold a one-point lead over the Stormers going into the match and are two points ahead of Leinster so there is little margin for error.

Ending the regular season at the summit is supposed to secure a home pathway in the play-offs but, as has been well documented, there is no stadium available in Scotland should Glasgow make it to the final.

Belfast is one option and Smith admitted it could be useful to get a feel from the ground, although he was wary of talking about the final.

“At the end of the day, you can play a final in any place,” he said. “It's an on-the-day thing. If we get to play the final there, it will be fantastic. If we're in the final, that's going to be the next challenge for us. For now, to have a game this late in the competition, if it does work out that way, allows us to use it as a point of reference. For now, that has not come to mind. It's all about the 80 minutes that we've got in front of us.”

Ulster’s ground is part of Glasgow’s history

Glasgow are already guaranteed a home quarter-final which will be played at Scotstoun, most likely on May 29. They will then have to vacate the ground which is being used for the Commonwealth Games. If they make it to the semis and have home advantage, the match will be played at Murrayfield, but the national stadium is not available for the final due to it hosting concerts.

Ulster’s Ravenhill ground is part of Glasgow’s history given it was the venue at which they won the Pro12 final against Munster in 2015. However, it has been a tough place to go for the Warriors who have not beaten Ulster there since 2013.

Now known as the Affidea Stadium for sponsorship reasons, Glasgow will be hoping to channel the spirit of 2015 on Friday. The return of Brown will aid their cause, and the versatile Aberdonian will slot into the second row to partner Alex Samuel. His inclusion sees Ally Miller shifts to blindside, with Matt Fagerson moving to openside in place of Darge. Macenzzie Duncan takes over from Dempsey at No 8. There is also a change at loosehead prop where Nathan McBeth replaces Jamie Bhatti who has a knee injury.

‘Jack is being managed’

“It’s good news that Gregor is now available again and can get back to the form we hope as that’s going to be needed in the last part of the season,” said Smith.

Regarding Dempsey, he added: “Jack is just being managed at the moment. It's a combination of a couple of things. But I do feel Macenzzie Duncan is somebody who can bring something to this specific game. It's good for the quarters to be able to manage Jack as well.”

Smith is also confident that Huw Jones, Scott Cummings and Jamie Dobie will be fit for the quarter-finals. Glasgow don’t have a game next week so have a fortnight to help get them ready but Ulster have a huge match next Friday when they take on Montpellier in the final of the European Challenge Cup in Bilbao. Their team selection appears to reflect that: they have made 10 changes and there are starts for two of their academy players, Bryn Ward and Wilhelm De Klerk.

Ulster are still not guaranteed a play-off place and Smith expects them to come at Glasgow full pelt.

“They need one point at least to be in the top eight. I think they've got that mission,” said the coach. “You can see that the players they've got on the bench means they want to end strong in the game. They've got a strong second-half group coming on.

“I've seen that (Mark) Sexton, their attack coach, said they're ready to beat us. So that's the mindset. I'm sure they would like to go with all the confidence they can into next week's final of the Challenge Cup. So we expect that they'll come out full blast.”

How they’ll line up in Belfast

Ulster Rugby v Glasgow Warriors, URC round 18, Affidea Stadium, Belfast, Friday, 7.45pm

Ulster: Michael Lowry; Werner Kok, James Hume, Wilhelm De Klerk, Zac Ward; Jake Flannery, Conor McKee; Sam Crean, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole, Harry Sheridan, Charlie Irvine, Joe Hopes, Nick Timoney (capt), Bryn Ward. Replacements: Tom Stewart, Angus Bell, Scott Wilson, Cormac Izuchukwu, Lorcan McLoughlin, Nathan Doak, Jack Murphy, Ethan McIlroy.

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay; Kyle Steyn (capt), Stafford McDowall, Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Rowe; Dan Lancaster, George Horne; Nathan McBeth, Johnny Matthews, Zander Fagerson, Gregor Brown, Alex Samuel, Ally Miller, Matt Fagerson, Macenzzie Duncan. Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Rory Sutherland, Sam Talakai, Jare Oguntibeju, Euan Ferrie, Sione Vailanu, Ben Afshar, Ollie Smith.

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR).